Calculations must be done, so a scientific calculator (must have trig,
exponential, etc) is essential.

Recommended Items

A laptop is very useful for a variety
of reasons, among them... it is really nice to do calculations in Excel.

Problems

The heart of this course is the working of problems. Much of
the discussion sections will consist of doing problems.
Weekly problem sets will be due Mondays, to be turned in to
the Physics 24 boxes in the
lobby of Broida Hall, by 5pm. The problems are generally not the type
of problems that you can get done in a few minutes... some may take a
few hours, so start early, and utilize our office hours. You are also
encouraged to work together to figure out how to do problems, but, you
must write up your own solutions independently.

Unfortunately, solutions can be found sometimes on the web.
Copying such solutions and turning them in is forbidden,
and will hurt you when you try to take the tests for this course,
because you can't copy during the test. And often the solutions
on the web are wrong.

Write up your solutions carefully and neatly. Generally, make a clear
diagram, introduce algebraic variables for unknowns, and solve for answers
symbolically. Plug in numbers at the end, and, do some cross checking as
well as consideration of limiting cases (like, what if each mass in the
problem becomes very large or very small?).

If homework is late by more than two days from the due date, you
will get no credit. If you turn it in up to two days late, you
will receive 50% credit.

Grading and Tests

The plans for grading are: Class Participation
(measured in part with the iClickers), 10%; Problem sets, 25%; Midterm 25%;
Final 40%. Current plan is for one midterm, on Monday, May 7. The final is Wednesday, June 13 from 4-7pm in Broida 1640.

Treat Everyone with Respect

Sylabus

The first column shows the week number, and
a link to the course lecture notes, when available... don't count on these!
The second column has the date.
The third column has the textbook sections in Purcell or RHK4 to read.
The fourth column has a partial list of topics.
The fifth column has the problems due for the week.
The last column has links to some pertinent web pages.